July 12, 2012
Candrea Thomas
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
candrea.k.thomas@nasa.gov
Trent Perrotto
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0321
trent.j.perrotto@nasa.gov
Kirstin Brost Grantham
SpaceX
202-649-2716
media@spacex.com
RELEASE: 12-233
NASA COMMERCIAL PARTNER SPACEX COMPLETES DRAGON DESIGN REVIEW
HAWTHORNE, Calif. -- NASA partner Space Exploration Technologies
(SpaceX) has completed an important design review of the crewed
version of its Dragon spacecraft. The concept baseline review
presented NASA with the primary and secondary design elements of its
Dragon capsule designed to carry astronauts into low Earth orbit,
including the International Space Station.
SpaceX is one of several companies working to develop crew
transportation capabilities under the Commercial Crew Development
Round 2 (CCDev2) agreement with NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP).
Through CCDev2, NASA is helping the private sector develop and test
new spacecraft and rockets with the goal of making commercial human
spaceflight services available to commercial and government
customers.
In the June 14 review conducted at the company's headquarters in
Hawthorne, Calif., SpaceX provided details about each phase of a
potential crewed mission. This included how the company plans to
modify its launch pads to support such missions, Dragon's docking
capabilities, the weight and power requirements for the spacecraft,
and prospective ground landing sites and techniques. The company also
outlined crew living arrangements, such as environmental control and
life support equipment, displays and controls.
"SpaceX has made significant progress on its crew transportation
capabilities," NASA CCP Manager Ed Mango said. "We commend the SpaceX
team on its diligence in meeting its CCDev2 goals to mature the
company's technology as this nation continues to build a real
capability for America's commercial spaceflight needs."
Safety was a key focus of the review. The SpaceX team presented NASA
with analyses on how its SuperDraco launch abort system would perform
if an emergency were to occur during launch or ascent. The review
also outlined plans for getting astronauts away from danger quickly
and safely on the way to low Earth orbit, in space and during the
return home.
"The successful conclusion of the concept baseline review places
SpaceX exactly where we want to be -- ready to move on to the next
phase and on target to fly people into space aboard Dragon by the
middle of the decade," said SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk.
All of NASA's industry partners, including SpaceX, continue to meet
their established milestones in developing commercial crew
transportation capabilities under CCDev2.
While NASA works with U.S. industry to develop commercial spaceflight
capabilities to low Earth orbit, the agency also is developing the
Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS), a crew capsule and
heavy-lift rocket, to provide an entirely new capability for human
exploration of deep space. Designed to be flexible for launching crew
and cargo missions, Orion and SLS will expand human presence beyond
Earth and enable new missions of exploration across the solar system.
For more information about NASA's Commercial Crew Program, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew
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